Program for graphic priority editing

ABSTRACT

A word processing tool for idea generation represents text-identified ideas of a database in either the form of a text outline or in the form of a tree structure of nodes. Ideas of a given level can have priorities to change the ordering of the depiction of ideas in those levels. The priorities may be adjusted in a priority window allowing drag and drop reordering of idea and numeric weighting of ideas using a slider control. Loose dependence between ordering and weighting insures consistency of the two in the priority window.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/580,813 filed May 26, 2000

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to text processing programs for electroniccomputers, and in particular, to a text processing program that providessymmetric, outlining and tree-diagram text organization modes.

Text documents are a convenient way to share ideas. Text is easilygenerated and edited using a word processor or the like, and easilycommunicated or stored in either electronic or paper form.

Unfortunately, the relationship between ideas, as expressed in textalone, is not always clear. To remedy this problem, it is common toimpose an outline structure on text documents in which “subservient”ideas are placed in paragraphs indented and underneath paragraphsrepresenting “dominant” ideas. Each paragraph may be numbered in a waythat further illustrates this relationship. By using multiple levels ofindenting, outlining allows an arbitrarily complex set of dominant andsubservient text elements to be represented. The outlining process issupported by many word processors which allow the user to switch betweenan outline mode and a standard text mode and which automate the processof numbering outlined paragraphs.

Outlining is nevertheless limited in its ability to convey complexrelationships between ideas. When many ideas are presented, relateddominant ideas are often separated by many subservient ideas with theresult that the relationship between the dominant ideas is obscured.Further, the indentation of paragraphs (or numbering) provides littleadditional information about the relationship between ideas beyond therelatively general relationships of dominance and subservience. Finally,the outlining process in itself provides little guidance to the user inorganizing text or in generating ideas.

What is needed is a text-processing tool that provides a more flexiblemethod of organizing ideas and revealing the relationship between ideasand which promotes good organizational structure.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a computer tool to assist a user indeveloping and organizing ideas. Operating in either a text outline modeor a tree mode, the tool allows numeric priorities to be attached toideas of a common level in either the outline or tree and redraws theoutline or tree to comport with those priorities. A convenient userinterface is provided to allow these priorities to be easilyestablished. The invention further provides templates to prompt theusers in exploring their ideas. The user creates levels of “issues”,“positions”, and arguments”. Open-ended challenges are provided at theissue and position levels to help the user explore positions in responseto issues, and arguments in response to positions. Such templates may bedeveloped by experts to guide the user in particular fields of inquiry.

Specifically, the present invention provides a program for theorganization of ideas using an electronic computer, the electroniccomputer having a user input device and a graphics display. The programcomprising instructions is executed on the electronic computer to accepttext identified ideas from the user via the user input device and toaccept (at least one) idea hierarchy instructions from the user via theuser input device, the hierarchy instructions relating the acceptedideas in dependencies. The program then displays representations of theideas on the graphic display as organized into levels defined by commondependency. Numeric priorities for the ideas of at least one level maybe accepted from the user causing the ideas of the at least one level onthe graphic display (for example in a text outline) to be arrangedaccording to the priorities when it is redisplayed.

Thus it is one object of the invention to improve the representation ofdependent ideas through the introduction of level priorities such aspromote more important ideas to positions of visual dominance.

The displayed representation of the ideas may be as text displayed in atext outline according to the dependencies of ideas associated with thetext, the text outline including paragraphs arranged beneath otherparagraphs on which they depend; and the paragraphs of a level may beordered according to the priorities of the ideas to which they arerelated.

Conversely, the displayed representations of the ideas are node symbolsarranged in a tree according to their dependencies, the tree structureincluding branches visually connecting node symbols to other nodesymbols on which they depend; and the nodes of a level may be orderedaccording to the priorities of the ideas to which they are related.

Thus it is one object of the invention to provide a tool that allowseither a tree or text outline representation of data and thus whichallows the user to partake of the strength of each form.

The user may be provided with a list of representations of identifiedideas of a level and wherein priorities are assigned by the user bychanging the order of the representations of identified ideas within thelist. The user may be allowed to change the order of representations ofidentified ideas (and thus their priority) by selection of a givenrepresentation of an identified idea as displayed on the graphicsdisplay using the user input device and moving the representations ofthe identified idea within the list as displayed on the graphic displaydevice using the user input device. Alternatively or in addition a slidecontrol for each identified idea in the list may be displayed that maybe manipulated by the user-input device to enter a number priorityvalue.

Thus it is yet another object of the present invention to provide anintuitive and easy to use graphical interface for assigning prioritiesto objects.

When the representation of an identified idea is moved within the list,the priority of at least one idea identifier may be changed so that thepriorities of all identified ideas in the list remain monotonicallydecreasing. Priorities may be similarly adjusted when the sliders aremoved to preserve monotonicity of priorities.

Thus it is another object of the invention to allow free adjustment ofpriorities of one element in the list while maintaining consistency withthe priorities of other elements within the list.

The invention may display representations of the ideas on the graphicdisplay as organized into levels defined by common dependency and afteracceptance of a given text identified idea from the user in at least onepredefined level; prompt the user as to possible additional textidentified ideas for inclusion in a next level having ideas dependent onthe idea of the given text identified idea. The predefined categoriesmay be are ISSUE, POSITION and ARGUMENT and the user is prompted withpossible ARGUMENTS when the given text identified idea is a POSITION andthe user may be prompted with possible POSITIONS when the given textidentified idea is an ISSUE. The user may be prompted with a set ofopen-ended questions that may be augmented by text from the identifiedideas of the given position.

Thus it is another object of the invention to provide a tool not onlyfor organizing ideas but one that assist the user in exploring theboundaries of the ideas.

Further, the user may select from a set of predefined generic identifiedideas and hierarchies and to provide an editor for editing thepredefined generic identified ideas and hierarchies.

Thus it is another object of the invention to communicate to the userthe experience of experts in the field that may be applied to theproblems being analyzed by the user. This expertise may be conveyed in“skeletal” ideas and hierarchies or in the prompts described above.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention willappear from the following description. In this description, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in whichthere is shown by way of illustration, a preferred embodiment of theinvention. Such embodiment and its particular objects and advantages donot define the scope of the invention, however, and reference must bemade therefore to the claims for interpreting the scope of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a standard desktop computer system showinga graphics display screen, a keyboard, and a mouse communicating with aprocessor and memory holding the program of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the entry of text data by the user torepresent particular ideas of: CATEGORY, ISSUE, POSITION, and ARGUMENT;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary representation of a database receiving the dataentered by the process of FIG. 2 showing a record structure holding theentered text data and its hierarchy by the recording of the entry'sparent;

FIG. 4 is an example display on display of FIG. 1 showing a tree moderepresentation of the data of the database of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a figure similar to that of FIG. 4 showing an outline versionof the same data of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a representation of a display of a prioritizing list boxcontrol for inputting priority data associated with the idea-identifiersentered in the process of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing operation of the program of the presentinvention in adjusting priorities according to manipulation of the listbox of FIG. 6 by the user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a computer 10 may provide for a graphic displayscreen 12 such as a cathode ray tube or liquid crystal display monitoror the like communicating with a video card 14 attached to an internalbus 16 of the computer. A keyboard 18 and mouse 20 may likewisecommunicate via ports 22 with the internal bus 16.

The internal bus 16 also joins with a memory 24 and a processor 26 toallow intercommunication therebetween. The memory 24 may include anoperating system 28, the program 30 of the present invention, and adatabase 32 created by the program 30 as will be described. Theoperating system may, for example, be a Windows operating systemmanufactured by Microsoft Corporation as is well known in the art.Generally, as will be described, the program 30 will be executed by theprocessor 26 in the environment of the operating system 28 to providesignals to the video card 14 for the display of data on the graphicdisplay screen 12 and receive data from the user through the keyboard 18and mouse 20. The program 30 may be written in a graphicalobject-oriented language such as Visual Basic, Delphi or C++, suchlanguages which provide high level objects for “buttons”, “text boxes”and similar objects as well as database structures as will be describedbelow.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the program 30 of the present inventiongenerally allows for the inputting of text data identifying ideas. Aswill be described below, the user may characterize each idea as aCATEGORY, an ISSUE, a POSITION and a SUPPORTING ARGUMENT or OPPOSINGARGUMENT. These different types of ideas have a natural order, that is,POSITIONS are responsive to ISSUES. ARGUMENTS support or opposePOSITIONS. New ISSUES are spawned from POSITIONS or ARGUMENTS.Accordingly, the program will prompt the user for particular types ofideas 52 depending on a selected parent idea 52 as will be describedbelow. Although not shown in FIG. 2, it will be understood that thependancy of ISSUE/POSITION/ISSUE maybe continued to infinite depthlimited only by the capacity of the particular computer.

The data entry portion of the program 30 begins at a process block 33 inwhich the user is presented with a CATEGORY entry screen 34 allowing aCATEGORY to be entered. Generally a CATEGORY describes the general topicto which ideas to be generated relate, and is intended simply as a nameunder which to collect similar investigations for possible reuse or easyreference.

Using the keyboard 18 and/or mouse 20 according to well-understoodgraphic user interface conventions, the user may enter a new CATEGORY onthe CATEGORY entry screen 34 presented on the graphic display screen 12.The CATEGORY entry screen 34 provides for the entry of a category namein CATEGORY name text-entry box 36 and a description of the CATEGORY inCATEGORY description text-entry box 38.

The CATEGORY entry screen 34 provides for a prompt button 41 whichprovides the user instructions or hints as to the appropriate data to beentered into the CATEGORY name text-entry box 36 and a save button thatsaves the entered data to the database 32 and closes the CATEGORY entryscreen window upon completion.

As is understood in the art, each of the text-entry boxes describedabove and as will be described below, allows for text entry andrudimentary editing of that text according to techniques well known inthe art as provided by the windows operating system. Further each of theentry screens including that described above and hereafter will includethe prompt and save buttons and these will not be described again. Anexample prompt might say to not construct ISSUES in terms of yes or noquestions and might give sample formulations for question construction.

Once a CATEGORY has been entered at process block 33, the user mustselect (or enter) a top ISSUE. This selection process (for any ISSUE notjust top ISSUES) is invoked by process block 40 which provides for anISSUE entry screen 42 allowing entry of a title 32 d of the ISSUE inISSUE title text-entry box 44 and a description 32 e of the ISSUE inISSUE description text-entry box 46. While the preferred embodimentseparates the title and description, it will be understood that theseelements may in fact be combined without substantially diminishing theutility of the invention. A value number 32 f may be entered in prioritytext-entry box 48 to distinguish this ISSUE in priority among otherISSUES of a similar hierarchical level as will be explained. The ISSUEentry screen 42 also provides a CATEGORY text-entry box 50 whichinitially holds the CATEGORY previously entered in process block 33 orthe CATEGORY of a selected node (as will be explained below) but whichmay be changed so as to link the ISSUE to another CATEGORY. CATEGORY isshown to the user to confirm that the top-level issue is being added tothe correct category.)

Referring now to FIG. 3, in an example use of this program, a new ISSUEmay be entered as with the title: “Considerations In Buying A New Car”.This title 32 d is entered into a record of the database 32 having arecord number 32 a and defining generally an ISSUE idea 52 a. Adescription 32 e may also be optionally entered via the ISSUEdescription text-entry box 46 in like designated column of the recordfor the idea 52 a, the description being additional text describing theISSUE. The type 32 c of ISSUE idea 52 a as an ISSUE is also stored.Generally one record or row of the database 32 will correspond to oneidea 52.

Once an ISSUE idea 52 a has been defined, the user may view the treemode screen 54 as shown in FIG. 4. The ISSUE idea 52 a appears as abox-shaped node 75 incorporating within it the title 32 d of the ISSUEidea 52 a. A text window 56 in the upper left-hand corner of the screenprovides the title 33 d in larger or more complete form so as to allowthe representation of the ISSUE idea 52 a by the node 75 to be compact.Optionally, according to an option menu 58, a description display window60 may also be displayed, holding the description 32 e previouslyentered in the ISSUE description text-entry box 46 associated with theISSUE idea 52 a. The description display window 60 and text window 56will always reference a currently selected node 75 (the selectionprocess to be described) so as to allow easy review of multiple nodes75.

At this point, the user will typically use the tree mode screen 54 forfurther entry of ideas 52 using the ADD button 62. The type of idea(e.g., ISSUE, POSITION or ARGUMENT) is determined from the context ofthe tree mode screen 54 and, in particular, which node 75 is selected bythe user. Selection of a node 75 (and its underlying idea 52) isaccomplished by conventional techniques understood in the art by movinga cursor 77 to the particular text-entry box and activating a mousebutton on the mouse 20. The node 75 is visually highlighted when it isselected. The cursor highlights the selected node by color, and alsohighlights the parents and children nodes. Specifically, parents arehighlighted with red; the selected node with yellow; and children nodeswith blue in contrast to their normal black and white depiction.

If the node 75 selected relates to an ISSUE idea 52 a (as is the casewith this example), then when the ADD button 62 is pressed, the programwill proceed to process block 64 as shown in FIG. 2 for adding of a newPOSITION idea 52 b, the only type of idea 52 that may be dependent onthe selected ISSUE idea 52 a. Invoking the ADD button 62, brings upPOSITION entry screen 66 indicating a parent title 32 d of parent ISSUEidea 52 a, in a parent text-entry box 68, in this case the title of thetop ISSUE: “Considerations In Buying A New Car”. The user may enter aposition title 32 d in POSITION title text-entry box 70 (in this case“Old Cars Are Expensive”) and a description 32 e for this new POSITIONidea 52 b. The data entered for the POSITION idea 52 b will form asecond record in the database 32, as before, indicating the idea type (Pfor POSITION) and value number 32 f (defaulting to 100) but unlikebefore, will also include an entry of a parent node 52 a referencing byrecord number 52 a parent ISSUE idea 52 a.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 3, the new node 75 for POSITION idea 52 bwill appear in the tree mode screen 54 including a colored indicia 74indicating that the POSITION idea 52 b is that of a POSITION. Aselection of node 75 of POSITION idea 52 b using the mouse 20 promotesits title: “Old Cars Are Expensive” into the text window 56. Thehierarchy of the nodes of ISSUE idea 52 a and POSITION idea 52 b areshown by line 79 connecting particular idea-identifiers 52 and by thecolors of the boxes surrounding the selected node.

This node 75 may be dragged using the mouse 20 to any position on thetree mode screen 54 while being visually connected by branch line 79.Two modes of repositioning are allowed using two buttons on the mouse20. When a node 75 ids “dragged and dropped” using the left mousebutton, only that node 75 is moved. When the same action is performedusing the right mouse button, that node and all children nodes are alsomoved. Children nodes 75, representing those ideas 52 in the database 32referring to a parent 32 b by record number 32 a, are always shown lowerin the diagram (by default) of tree mode screen 54 than their parentnodes 75, but may otherwise be freely moved about the screen by clickingand dragging according to well known conventions in graphical userinterfaces. When the node 75 is dropped, the new coordinates for thenode 75 are stored in the database 32 as the node coordinates 32 g. Inthis way, a reading of the database 32 may always allow depiction of thelatest tree diagram in the tree mode screen 54.

If a new POSITION idea 52 b is to be added under the top ISSUE of ISSUEidea 52 a, the ADD button may again be pressed and a new POSITIONenrolled at the same hierarchical level as the POSITION of idea 52 b. Inthis example, however, the POSITION idea 52 b is selected and uponpressing the ADD button 62, process block 76 is invoked to allow theentry of data for an ARGUMENT idea 52 c relating to ARGUMENTS or anotherISSUES idea 52 a.

In this case, a selection entry screen 78 appears showing the parent 32b in the context of the selection of POSITION idea 52 b, in the title,“Old Cars Are Expensive,” and allowing selection of either a SUPPORTINGARGUMENT, OPPOSING ARGUMENT, or a new ISSUE by radio buttons 85.

If a SUPPORTING ARGUMENT is selected, the program provides SUPPORTINGARGUMENT entry screen 80 indicating again the title 32 d of the parent“Old Cars Are Expensive” and showing the text “SUPPORTING ARGUMENT” 81and allowing placement of a new argument title 32 d in SUPPORTINGARGUMENT title text-entry box 82 and description 32 e in SUPPORTINGARGUMENT description text-entry box 84 as is generally shown above.

In the present example, three ARGUMENT ideas 52 c-e are then addedbeneath POSITION idea 52 b using this or a similar entry screen, eachoccupying a common hierarchical level as result of common dependency oncommon POSITION idea 52 b. Corresponding nodes 75 appear at a singlelevel beneath the node 75 of POSITION idea 52 b, however, the locationsof these nodes 75 may be freely changed as described above.

Specifically, and referring to FIG. 3, ARGUMENT idea 52 c shows itsdependency on POSITION idea 52 b by listing as a parent 32 b recordnumber two (that of POSITION idea 52 b). ARGUMENT idea 52 c has a type32 c of “SUPPORTING ARGUMENT” (represented by an S) indicating that itsupports the POSITION idea 52 b that “Old Cars Are Expensive” and hasthe title of “Repair Costs Increase”.

The two OPPOSING ARGUMENTS of idea 52 d and idea 52 e enrolled inrecords number four and five of the database 32 have the titles 32 d of“Insurance Costs Decrease” and “Loan Payments End”. Similar data showstheir type 32 c and parent 32 b.

Referring now to FIG. 4, although ideas 52 c, 52 d and 52 e occupy asingle level of the hierarchy, they may have different indicia 74typically being different colors indicating whether they are OPPOSINGARGUMENTS or SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS. Thus the general relationship of theideas 52 to other ideas is easily viewed and multiple types ofrelationships may be indicated, not just the dominant/subservientrelationships of an outline.

Referring again to FIG. 4, an edit button 65 allows editing of anyselected node 75 meaning editing of the record of the underlying idea 52in the database 32. The edit button 65 allows general text editingincluding deletion and insertion of characters and the like into thetitle 32 d and description 32 e. A next button 67 moves one through thehierarchy in a level-by-level left to right sequence by moving down therecords of the database 32. Previous button 88 moves one backward in thehierarchy or moving up the records. A menu item 90 allows editing ofvarious features of the drawings including lining up rows evenly andshortening lines 79. Navigation through the tree is also providedthrough the use of the computer keyboard arrow keys (up, down, left andright).

In the tree mode screen 54, a challenge button 57 may be activatedwhenever a POSITION node 75 or an ISSUE node is selected. The challengebutton 57 in its simplest embodiment provides a set of open-endedquestions helping the user to determine what possible arguments might beapplied against a given POSITION or positions applicable to a particularISSUE. For example, the challenge button may produce a list (not shown)of questions having to do with cost impact, environmental impact, andother questions regarding a POSITION. Checking one of these open-endedquestions will import the text of the question into the title block of anew ARGUMENT entry screen 80 that may be edited by the user.

In yet another embodiment, the open-ended questions or statementsproduced by pressing of the challenge button 57 may be augmented withkey words recognized from the POSITION 52 b and ISSUE 52 a by comparingtext in those idea-identifiers 52 a to a list of key words andsyntactical constructions as is understood in the art. In this case, thechallenge may provide the techniques of artificial intelligence to theproblems of generating ideas. Alternatively, the user may provide keyterms of POSITIONs or ISSUEs within delimiters such as quotation marksto allow those terms to be imported into the challenge questions.

The questions may reflect the experience of experts in certain areas andthus may be selected by the user based on general generic categories.The population of the database with new ideas based on these questionsmay be facilitated by allowing the user to simply check a box next torelevant challenge questions or statements which then become new ideaidentifiers appropriately labeled. The new idea identifiers may beedited by conventional editor operations.

Referring still to FIG. 4, an outline may be generated of data of thedatabase 32 collected using tree mode screen 54 by pressing a textoutline symbol icon 92. Referring to FIG. 5, the outline mode screen 94displays the titles 32 d of the ideas 52 representing parent nodes asparagraphs 96 and the titles of children nodes as subparagraphs 98beneath the paragraphs 96 and indented from those subparagraphs 98.Subparagraphs 98 may be further placed under other subparagraphs 98indented therefrom in the same way that children nodes may be parents toother children nodes. Standard outline numbering 100 is provided for theparagraphs.

The value number 32 f noted above and representing the priorities orimportance of ideas 52 is displayed above the paragraphs 96 andsubparagraphs 98 of a given level in the hierarchy (thus having the samelevel of indenting) and the paragraphs 96 and subparagraphs 98 of agiven level are arranged in order according to the value number 32 f.The indicia 74 of the nodes 75 in the tree mode screen 54 become textlabels such as: “SUPPORTING ARGUMENT”, “OBJECTING ARGUMENT” or “ISSUE”in the outline mode screen 94 and the outline may be printed by invokinga print menu item 106. The outline, composed only of standardtypographical characters may be easily stored, transmitted andreproduced by others using a common file structure such as rich textformat (RTF) well known in the art.

Pressing a tree icon 108 returns the user to the tree mode screen 54. Inyet another embodiment of the invention, both the tree mode screen 54and outline mode screen 94 may be shown simultaneously on a splitscreen. In this case, a synchronous cursor may move between paragraphsand nodes so as to provide a matching of different elements of the twodocuments.

In either of the tree mode screen 54 or outline mode screen 94, theoption menu 58 may be used to obtain and adjust the value numbers 32 fusing a priority window 115 shown in FIG. 6. This priority window 115 isonly available if an idea 52 has been selected having peer ideas 52 of asame hierarchical level. In this case, each of the titles 32 d of thepeer idea-identifier 52 are shown in successive text list boxes 110 inthe priority window 115 showing the parent POSITION 117. The text listboxes 110 are arranged in a linear order denoting priority per the valuenumber 32 f associated with the idea 52 of the text list box 110. Eachof the text list boxes 110 further includes a slider bar 112 having aslider element 114 that may be moved left or right so as to change thevalue numbers 32 f associated with the idea 52 of the given text listboxes 110 as displayed in the upper left hand corner by numerals 116.

Changes of the value numbers 32 f using the priority window edit theunderlying database 32. Generally the value numbers 32 f will be storedto a greater precision than that shown by the corresponding numerals116. Thus the value numbers 32 f may range from 0-10000 while only thethree most significant digits are displayed. This allows a simplifieddisplay to the user and yet preserves ordering even when the user hasassigned identical numerals to each text list box 110. Thus, forexample, if the user tries to shift (using the slider elements 114described below) all text list boxes 110 to have a priority of 100 (allsliders to the far right), the actual numbers stored in value numbers 32f of the database would be 10000, 9999, 9998, 9997 . . . They would bedisplayed as numerals 16 as 100,99,99,99.

Value numbers 32 f of ideas 52 of a same hierarchical level may bereadily changed in one of two ways. In the first way, a particular textlist box 110 is selected and dragged by means of the mouse 20 accordingto techniques well known in the art producing a phantom outline 120. Thephantom outline 120 may be repositioned on another text list box 110 asshown by arrow 122. When it is released as shown in FIG. 7 at processblock 124, then at succeeding process block 126, the program 30 movesthe existing text list boxes 110 down one in the list so as to changetheir relative priorities.

At process block 128, the value numbers 32 f of each of the reorganizedtext list boxes 110 are adjusted so that the value numbers 32 f of lowertext list boxes 110 are truncated at the value numbers 32 f of the uppertext list boxes 110. Thus, for example, if the middlemost text list box110 related to an idea 52 having a value number 32 f of sixty-eight isplaced at the top of the list, the topmost text-entry box having apriority of one-hundred moves down one position and has its prioritytruncated to sixty-eight. This truncation simply reviews the records ofthe database 32 after each such move and tests and truncates the valuenumbers 32 f against a collected maximum. A similar process takes placewhen you move an item down the list. The system insures that the valuesabove the item are raised.

This truncation process also occurs when the slider elements 114 areused so that the slider elements 114 of all lower text list boxes 110follow the slider element 114 above them as that slider element alignswith them as that slider element 114 is moved to the left to produce alower priority number. Any priority numbers of lower text list boxes 110that would be higher than the current value imposed by the sliderelement 114 on the upper text-entry box are also moved to remain atleast equal and no greater than that numerical priority. Similarly ifthe slider is moved up, the system automatically adjusts the value ofhigher priority items up. This two-step process of ordering and valuingprovides a simple and intuitive mechanism for prioritizing data superiorto just valuing the data insofar as it gives the user a comprehensivegraphical interface.

The value numbers 32 f cause an automatic rearrangement of thesubparagraphs in order of their priority when the outline mode screen 94is refreshed and can reorder the nodes of the tree mode (in the relevantlevel) on a left to right basis. The value numbers 32 f may also be usedto highlight dominant paths being paths through the idea 52 and lines 79having the highest value numbers 32 f at each hierarchical rank or toprovide leaf node totals at the bottommost idea-identifiers 52 aindicating paths which tend to have high value numbers 32 f in them.These features may provide for additional insight into the thoughtprocesses underlying the idea-identifiers.

The present invention allows the user to independently manipulate twoaspects of the data: ordering and weighting. If a weighted list of itemsis to be produced, one or more users could be asked to simply entervalue numbers 32 f but with a large number of text list boxes 110 thisis ineffective or confusion. The present invention thus allows a twostep process. First the text list boxes 110 can be ordered using thedrag and drop method and then the text list boxes can be weighted bydragging the slider bars. The present inventors have found that duringthe “weighting” phase, the user may make some modifications to theorder. Thus there may be a couple of passes “order”, “weight”, “order”,“weight” before the activity is completed. By using graphical tools,this can be accomplished quickly, thus doing a job with relative ease,where it would be accomplished poorly or not completed at all if numericentry alone were used. As used herein, it will be understood that theterms dominant/subservient and parent/child are relative terms and that,for example, parent nodes may be children to other nodes and childrennodes may be parents to other nodes per conventional usage.

Once a database 32 is created it may be saved and recalled for furtheruse. In this way, generic databases for particular problems may becreated and provided to the user to serve a framework for theirparticular problems. A directory of databases is provided for thispurpose and standard-editing tools described above may be used to fitthese to a particular problem. It is envisioned that a comprehensive setof such framework databases will eventually come into existence based onthis tool such as may be traded and even bought and sold between users.

It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited tothe embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but modified formsof those embodiments including portions of the embodiments andcombinations of elements of different embodiments as come within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A program for the organization of ideas using an electroniccomputer, the electronic computer having a user input devices and agraphics display, the program comprising instructions executed on theelectronic computer to: (i) accept text identified ideas from the uservia a user-input device; (ii) display representations of the textidentified ideas on the graphic display as organized into a spatialsequence having an order; (iii) accept weighting instructions from theuser via a user-input device to link the text identified ideas to aweight value selected from a range of possible weight values greater innumber than the number of text linked ideas; (iv) accept resequencinginstructions from the user via a user-input device to change the orderof the spatial sequence; and (v) modifying the weight value to remain inmonotonic relationship with the changed order of spatial sequence;whereby separate ordering and weighting of the ideas may be rapidlymanipulated.
 2. The program as recited in claim 1 wherein the computerfurther executes the stored program to receive the resequencinginstructions by moving a given representation within the spatialsequence using the user input device.
 3. The program as recited in claim1 wherein the computer further executes the stored program to display aslide control for each representation that may be manipulated by theuser input device to change the weight value associated with therepresentation.
 4. The program as recited in claim 3 wherein thecomputer further executes the stored program so that when a slidecontrol is manipulated, the computer modifies the weight value of atleast one stored text identified idea so that the numeric priorities ofall stored text identified ideas remain monotonic with respect to thespatial sequence.
 5. The program of claim 1 wherein the computer furtherexecutes the stored program so as to display the stored text identifiedideas in a text outline according to the numeric priorities.
 6. Theprogram of claim 1 wherein the computer further executes the storedprogram so as to display representations of the stored text identifiedideas in a tree diagram according to the numeric priorities.
 7. Aprogram for the organization of ideas using an electronic computer, theelectronic computer having a user input device and a graphics display,the program comprising instructions executed on the electronic computerto: (a) display representations of the ideas on the graphic display in atree mode in which representations of ideas are arranged as a treestructure, the tree structure including child and parent nodes atdifferent levels representing ideas of comparable types at each leveland branches visually connecting child nodes to parent nodes so as toidentify logical dependencies; (b) display a priority window includinglist text boxes denoting ideas at one level having the same dependencywithin the tree structure where such boxes are arranged in linear orderdenoting their priority value; (c) allow weight values to be assigned tothe ideas, the weight values selected from a range of possible weightvalues greater in number than the number of ideas at the one level; and(d) allow the text boxes to be dragged and dropped into different linearpositions in order to automatically reorder their priority values whilemodifying the weight value to remain in monotonic relationship with thechanged priority values.
 8. The program of claim 7, wherein the textboxes of the priority window displayed in step (c) further includeslider bars for changing the value associated with the ideacorresponding to the box and wherein the program includes a further stepto: (e) allow the slider to be moved along the bar in order to manuallyweight values of the idea corresponding to the box.
 9. A program for theorganization of ideas using an electronic computer, the electroniccomputer having a user input device and graphics display, the programcomprising instructions executed on the electronic computer to: (a)display representations of the ideas on the graphic display in a treemode in which representations of ideas are arranged as a tree structure,the tree structure including child and parent nodes at different levelsrepresenting ideas of comparable types at each level and branchesvisually connecting child nodes to parent nodes so as to identifylogical dependencies; (b) display a priority window including list textboxes denoting ideas at one level having the same dependency within thetree structure and arranged in linear order denoting their priorityvalue where such boxes have slider bars for changing the weight valueassociated with the idea corresponding to the box; and (d) allow theslider to be moved along the bar in order to manually adjust the weightvalues of the idea corresponding to the box while preservingmonotonicity between priority value and weight values.
 10. The programof claim 9, wherein the program includes a further step: (e) allow thetext boxes to be dragged and dropped into different linear positions inorder to automatically reorder their priority values.